Household debt in B.C. climbs as experts warn crippling loads could spell ruin

KAMLOOPS – Consumer debt experts in British Columbia say Statistics Canada's latest figures on household debt are alarming.

Credit Counselling Society of B.C. president Scott Hannah says the numbers show households now owe $1.68 for every dollar of disposable income.

Hannah says the figure is one cent higher than the average debt held by United States consumers when the severe recession hit in that country in 2008.

Hannah says much of the U.S. economic collapse was linked to mortgages and notes the Canadian market is more robust, but he points to the recent slowdown in Vancouver's home sales as proof that conditions can change rapidly.

The Credit Counselling Society is also flagging Stats Canada figures showing an 8.2 per cent increase in non-mortgage debt among those over 65 years of age.

Hannah says non-mortgage debt among pension-age Canadians has now reached $15,000.